hey I'm Deanna welcome to my studio this
is a beginner's guide to chalk paint and
chalk paint wax I'll be making over this
old side table and explaining the steps
as I go so let's get started the most
basic chalk paint finishes two parts
paint and wax and I'll be demonstrating
both of these in this video with chalk
paint there is no major prep work before
you get started you heard that right
no sanding no priming but you do want to
make sure your piece is nice and clean
before you get to painting you can give
it a wipe down with some warm soapy
water or if your piece is very dirty you
can use something a little stronger like
TSP to remove any grease or grime I've
already gone ahead and washed this piece
down with some TSP so I'm ready to start
painting you're gonna need a ton of
chalking I've got the color French linen
which is a medium gray tone chalk paint
comes in a lot of colors so you do have
lots of options a nice lone created this
paint in 1990 and she called it chalk
paint because it has a chalky matte
finish when it's dry it's different than
chalkboard paint and there's actually no
chalk in the tin you'll also need a
paintbrush I'll be painting with the
anti-saloon oval natural bristle brush
but you can really use any brush that
you like pour some paint out to get
started I like to do this rather than
dipping my brush right into the can so I
don't contaminate the paint dip your
brush in the paint and just go for it
nice big strokes back and forth brush
strokes go in every direction try not to
overthink it this is intended to be a
handcrafted process so easy and
forgiving that anyone can do it
if you notice any drips or runs try to
catch those well they're wet you can't
always stand them out later but it's
easier to just scoop them up as you go
along
I also have a couple of small areas that
my oval brush didn't quite fit into so
I'm just gonna go with a little brush
and get into those tight spaces don't
worry if you can still see some of the
original color underneath I'm gonna be
doing a second coat which will make that
much more solid I find that in most
chalk paint projects I do you end up
doing two coats of paint this just has
to sit and dry now for about 30 minutes
and then I'll come back and do another
layer the first layer is now dry and
with chalk paint as long as it's dry to
the touch you're ready to move on to the
second coat all I have to do is pour out
a little bit more paint and I'm ready to
get started
my second coat is done and I think it's
looking great it's really nice and solid
compared to the first coat for this
video I'm going to be leaving it as a
solid coat but if you are interested in
learning how to distress or create a
worn finish stay tuned for my next video
which will be on that topic if you
haven't already subscribed to my channel
go ahead click that subscribe button and
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when I upload that video now the next
step in this video is going to be
applying the chalk paint wax which is
the sealer for the paint but I do need
to allow this to dry again it'll be
drawing the touch in about 30 minutes
but I want to give it a couple of hours
so it gets really nice and hard on the
surface before we go ahead and rub in
that wax I'm gonna clean up my brushes
and then I'll move on to waxing in a
couple of hours the second coat is
completely dry and I'm ready to move on
to waxing it was dry to the touch in
about 30 minutes but I let it sit for a
few hours so that it could dry all the
way through you'll see in a moment that
when we apply the wax there's a lot of
rubbing on the surface and so if you wax
your piece before it's dry all the way
through there's a chance you'll wear
through the paint now that's fine if
you're going for a distressed or worn
look but in this case I wanted to keep
the paint more solid so I gave it that
little bit extra time to dry in order to
wax you just need a couple of things
first off you'll need your chalk paint
wax for this furniture piece I'll be
using clear it looks white but it goes
on the surface clear and you'll need
something to apply your wax with you can
either use a wax brush and they come in
all different shapes and sizes you don't
necessarily have to use one but it does
make the job a little bit easier or you
can apply with a lint-free cloth you're
gonna need some lint-free cloths as we
go anyways so have lots of those on hand
old t-shirts shop towels soft cotton
rags anything that doesn't give off lint
will do work a little wax into the
bristles of your brush and then paint
the wax onto the surface working one
section at a time once you've got that
section completely coated
set your brush down take one of your
lint-free cloths and then waste that
area to remove the excess wet once you
bite the excess flux you can move on to
the next section if you don't have a
brush specific for waxing you can do a
couple of different things you could
repurpose an old paintbrush which is
exactly what I'm doing here and I find
that any brush that's round or oval does
work better than a flat brush that's
just a little bit too soft and floppy or
you can just apply your wax using a
lint-free cloth and I'll show you how
that works you'll have two cloths one
will be for your wax on and one will be
for your wax off get a little bit of wax
on the wax on cloth use the cloth to rub
the wax into the surface still working
one section at a time and once you've
got the wax on to that entire section
take your second cloth a clean dry
lint-free cloth and just wipe with that
to remove the excess I find the brush
comes in handy in any areas where there
are details or grooves because you can
use the bristles to press in whereas the
cloth is a little bit trickier to get
that right in those creases
as you're working through your project
you'll notice your cloths start to get
clogged up with wax at this point
they're no longer effective wiping away
the excess wax they're just kind of
smearing it on the surface so every once
in a while you'll have to swap out for a
clean lint-free cloth if you've been
wondering what's the purpose of applying
this wax
it's the sealer for chalk paint chalk
paint is very porous and absorbent and
so we apply this wax topcoat to create a
water-resistant scuff resistant barrier
that's gonna help your furniture stand
up over time plus it leaves it as a nice
velvety soft finish because it is the
sealer for chalk paint you do want to
make sure that you get it everywhere
it's very subtle but when you're up
close you can see the color of the paint
shifts ever so slightly becomes a little
bit more vivid and that helps you to see
the areas that you have wax and the
areas that need wax still on a high use
surface like the tabletop it's never a
bad idea to do a second pass just to
make sure that you haven't missed any
areas I can see a couple of spots that
look a little lighter in color which
tells me that I did miss those areas so
I'm just gonna give the entire top a
quick once-over apply the wax just like
you did at the beginning and then take a
soft right and wipe away the excess
uses some hot water to clean the wax out
of your wax brush the hot water helps to
melt the wax off the brush you can also
use some grease cutting soap like your
dish detergent to help further remove
the wax I like to keep my wax brushes
and paintbrushes separate that way I
don't have to scrub so hard between each
use once you remove the majority of the
wax squeeze it out dry it off and you're
good to go
until next time the wax is dry to the
touch right away but it'll take a couple
of weeks to cure and get to its hardest
strength to maintain your finish you can
just dust with a dry rag wipe up any
spills right away and if over time
something starts to look a little dull
or gets marked up you can easily spot
relax to touch up the surface and in a
couple of months when you get tired of
the color no problem just paint over it
with chopping because yes a nice long
chopping will easily stick over top of
any slow and chalk paint wax
okay so project complete again this is
the most basic chalk paint finish chalk
paint and chalk paint wax if you are
interested in learning next steps or a
few more creative hands-on furniture
painting techniques remember to
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upload a new video if you have any
questions about today's video please
leave those in the comments section
below and please share your tips and
tricks for chalk painting furniture to
help out those who are just getting
started
thanks so much for watching and I'll see
you back here next time